New Britain Arsonist Sentenced

Arsonist In New Britain Case Defiant

July 10, 1993|By MATTHEW KAUFFMAN; Courant Staff Writer

Karol Domian of Newington, implicated in a string of arson fires that terrorized a New Britain neighborhood, was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday despite a plea that he is the victim of a longtime drug habit.

But the case against Domian's co-defendant David Kawiecki has apparently collapsed because Domian -- the key prosecution witness -- has given several conflicting statements to police. The contradictions have ruined Domian's value as a trial witness, lawyers in the case say.

As part of a plea bargain, a prosecutor had planned Friday to drop arson charges against Kawiecki. But the plan fell through at the last minute when Kawiecki told his lawyer he was not prepared to accept the agreement, which called for him to plead guilty to a charge of possessing stolen goods. The case was continued two weeks.

Friday's court action in Hartford marked the beginning of the end of a high-profile -- and mostly unsuccessful -- prosecution of the two men. They were arrested Nov. 9, 1992, more than a year after residents of New Britain's Broad Street neighborhood endured 15 late-night fires. Most were set on the back porches of occupied homes, forcing scores of people to flee. Residents seethed with frustration as months passed with no arrests.

A break in the case apparently came when Domian agreed to talk with police about the fires. Precisely what he said was unclear because several affidavits detailing the police probe remained sealed Friday. A newly released affidavit in a related case, however, states that Domian told police that he once gave Kawiecki a share of stolen money "after Kawiecki threatened to tell the police that Domian was involved with him in all the Broad Street fires."

Domian, 19, is a former Broad Street resident. Kawiecki, 20, lives in New Britain, close to where many of the fires occurred.

The two men, who are longtime friends, were charged with setting two of the blazes, which officials later said were set to cover up burglaries. The men were never charged with the other

At Domian's sentencing Friday, his attorney, Matthew Collins, asked for a more lenient sentence, saying his client was victimized by an abusive father, a "lifelong drug habit gone out of control," and the political violence he witnessed as a child in his native Poland.

Domian's mother, who shook and sobbed as Assistant State's Attorney Joan Alexander described her son's conduct, also pleaded for mercy.

"My name is Helena Domian. I am his mother," she said. "I love him very much. He was a good son for me. He helped me make shopping and clean the house."

Her words became strained as she struggled with both her emotions and the language barrier. Many of her remarks were inaudible, but for a frequent, clear refrain: "I love him."

Karol Domian, speaking in a defiant tone, also asked for leniency.

"I'm not the criminal that everybody wants to make look like," he told Superior Court Judge Richard A. Damiani. "I never turned anybody down when they asked for help. Now I'm asking for help and I'm being turned down."

Damiani told Domian that he could have earned a more lenient sentence by cooperating with the police investigation of Kawiecki.

"The reason I didn't is because I'm not going to lie for the state to put an innocent person in prison," Domian said.